Arsenal got away with Aston Villa penalty incident to leave Thomas Tuchel furious
Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings was penalised for a bizarre handball in their 1-0 loss to Club Brugge, yet Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes avoided the same punishment after a similar incident last season
by Nathan Ridley · The MirrorNew England manager Thomas Tuchel will be feeling old wounds after seeing how Aston Villa conceded a farcical penalty during their Champions League defeat to Club Brugge.
Mirroring what happened between Arsenal and Tuchel's former club, Bayern Munich, late last season, Villa captain Tyrone Mings was penalised after a bizarre mix-up. Early in the second half on Wednesday, Mings picked up the ball with his hands after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez passed it to him from a goal kick, with both appearing to think that play hadn't restarted.
German referee Tobias Stieler ruled that the ball was indeed in play, so blew his whistle amid vehement appeals. Brugge captain Hans Vanaken stepped up to punish Mings and his goal was enough to give the Belgian giants a crucial 1-0 win on home soil.
Bayern didn't get their opportunity from the spot in April, despite Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes doing the same as Mings when his side were 2-1 down in April's quarter-final. Gabriel picked up the ball after being given it by goalkeeper David Raya, prompting mass appeals from Bayern's squad and coaching staff.
Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg chose not to award a penalty and Arsenal soon equalised. Bayern boss Tuchel made the claim post-match that Nyberg had admitted to making a mistake but felt he didn't need to punish Arsenal for a 'kid's mistake' on such a big occasion.
"It was a bit tough, I felt like a lot, a lot of little decisions against us," Tuchel, whose side won the second leg at home 1-0, fumed. "I felt a bit of a push from the crowd, which was a fantastic crowd. And, for me, and for all of us he did a huge mistake in not giving a penalty.
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"I know it's crazy situation but they put the ball down, he whistles, they give the ball free and the defender takes the ball in his hand. What makes us really angry is the explanation on the field.
"He [the referee] told our players that it's a kid's mistake and he will not give a penalty like this in a quarter-final. This is a horrible, horrible explanation because that means he's judging our handballs. Kid's mistake, adult's mistake, or whatever."
Mings wasn't so fortunate, as Villa conceded their first goal in Europe this season and lost their 100 per cent record. Unai Emery's side have now gone four games without a victory in all competitions, with the strain of competing across multiple fronts perhaps taking its toll.
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